


how deep is the ocean, how deep is my love

by ifeelpersonallyattacked



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M E R M A I D S, M/M, Merpeople, Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Self-Harm, based off of that one scene in "mermaids: the body found", but i don't wanna spoil anything, but like not the little mermaid mermaids like an actual realistic depiction of them, mermaid au, pidge and shiro are just mentioned, sorta? its more of a sacrifice, there's no spoken dialogue because we bein realistic up in this house, this be sad yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-18 18:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16522190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifeelpersonallyattacked/pseuds/ifeelpersonallyattacked
Summary: sensing the blood of preyswimming in fear of liferolling overfalling into jawsteeth that chatterit distracts them allSometimes, you have to hurt the people you love in order to save them. Keith knows it all too well.





	how deep is the ocean, how deep is my love

**Author's Note:**

> hehehe i wrote this like two months ago when i was waist deep in my mermaid phase and i'm still waist deep and i'm sorry for this

Mountains. 

Land. 

Air. 

Keith had heard the stories passed down from his parents, who were told by their parents, who were told by their parents, going back to the time of their ancestors. How their kind used to have two tails and walk upright on the ground, only traveling to the water’s edge to gather food. 

It all seemed so foreign to him now. 

Gripping his spear and swishing his tail slightly to ground himself, Keith dove back under the waves. Despite the fact that Keith had been this route several times before, he kept his wits about him, his focus never wavering. He couldn’t allow it to. The safety of his pod was on the line. 

This was Keith’s fourth summer as a scout and his twelfth as a member of the pod. Even though he had not been born into it, he was quickly accepted as a member, which made him fiercely loyal to them. He would do anything to protect them. 

Suddenly, something moved out of the corner of Keith’s left eye. He spun towards and pointed his spear at it, his eyes narrowing into slits and letting out a furious hiss. However, his anger and protective instinct disappeared as soon as it had come as the source of the movement, a simple hermit crab, quickly scuttled behind a rock, sensing danger. 

Keith loosened the grip on his spear and returned to a neutral position, feeling a little silly. Hermit crabs didn’t pose any sort of threat to him or his pod and to point his spear at one seemed paranoid. He was glad Pidge, one of the younger members of his pod, wasn’t there to laugh at him. She’d never let him live it down. 

But now wasn’t the time to think about Pidge or anything besides his mission. He’d be damned if something happened to his pod, his family, simply because he allowed himself to get distracted. Steeling himself, he pressed on. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The migratory routes of his pod weren’t unfamiliar to Keith. As far as he could tell, they had been coming to these winter waters as long as the pod had been established. Keith knew that this route was generally safe, but there had been a few scares with stingrays and stinging jellyfish over the years, so you could never be too careful. 

Keith scanned the reef, searching for any signs of potential danger, making sure to keep a tight grip on his spear. Two summers ago, he had made the mistake of leaving his spear on a rock while he went to search a small cave. A startled barracuda had given him the wide scar on his cheek and Keith made sure to never be without his spear on missions ever again. 

So far, the reef looked safe. Reefs generally were, and some in his pod even thought it was pointless to do a sweep of them. But you could never be too careful in his opinion. 

But the reef was only a prelude to the most treacherous part of the journey. 

The open-water crossing. A large bout of nothing but uninterrupted water that stretched out for several miles. If you dove down deep enough, you would hit a deep trench, where many dangers lurked. Most of them never bothered to leave, finding the shallower water too warm or too bright. But some did leave. Even his own brother, one of the best and strongest warriors in the pod, couldn’t fend off one of the monsters and lost one of his arms one summer back. There was no way Keith was letting that happen again, to Shiro or to anyone. 

Keith could make out the edge of the reef and he propelled himself closer, beating his powerful tail against the water. As he approached the dropoff, he tightened his grip on his spear. He refused to be caught off-guard. 

And then he was at the edge. Vast, empty sea went on for what seemed like forever. Keith leaned forward slightly, keeping his eyes open for any sign it wasn’t safe to cross. 

His eye caught something in the distance and he leaned forward a bit more, trying to make out what it was. If it was some sort of predator, he needed to get back to his pod and warn them. He’d never forgive himself if he allowed his pod to cross open water, where there’s no place to hide, with some deep sea creature on the prowl. 

As the creature came closer and Keith could make out what it was, he relaxed. It was only a whale. Sure, they were big, but his kind had learned long ago that whales, despite their massive size, would never hurt them. Sometimes, they even rode along on the whales’ dorsal fins when they were too tired to swim. Keith allowed himself a small smile as he watched the whale glide majestically through the water. The whale was probably going to the same place his pod was-

Just then, a flash of white underbelly and sharp teeth burst up from the depths and latched onto the fluke of the whale. Keith reeled back, his eyes widening at the violence unfolding before him. 

Red stained the waters as the whale struggled to get away, but to no avail. The scent of the blood made Keith’s nostrils flare, shocking him to his senses. Quickly, he turned around and set a brutal pace for himself, desperate to get to his pod and warn them. The whale’s dying calls echoed in his mind. 

All of his senses were heightened as he tore through the reef and back to the spot where he had left his pod. I’ll be right back, he had told them. 

It seemed like a lifetime before Keith had his pod in his sights again. There were about twenty-five of them, all playing lazily or taking care of their tired young. The pod’s leader, a female called Allura, watched from the edges. A tired, yet content smile rested serenely on her face and a sparkle danced in her eyes. 

And then there was his mate. His wonderful, adorable mate. He was called Lance, a sound that started out long and ended with a short hiss, and it was the most beautiful thing Keith had ever heard in his life. Lance was everything he could’ve ever wanted and more. He was lovely and playful and caring, even managing to get Keith out of his shell. Before Lance, all he had had was his brother Shiro. But Lance brought an intensity and joy to his life he had never had before, and he would protect that at all costs. 

Keith opened his mouth and let out a throaty screech, one that every member of the pod knew. It was a warning of the most dire kind. Immediately, everyone in the pod stopped what they were doing and turned towards him, confusion and fear written all over their faces. Keith could see Lance gripping the arm of his birthmate, Rachel, distress evident in his eyes. It killed him to see his mate so upset, but the safety of the pod depended on him. He let out another long cry. 

_There is a monster. We must leave now._

Right away, the pod began gathering their young, guiding their little arms around their parents’ necks. If they needed to flee quickly, this was the best way to do it. The tails of the young were not fully developed yet and would not be able to outswim one of the monsters. Keith could see Allura barking sharp orders to everyone and he was about to join her when suddenly, he felt the water beneath him ripple. An icy shock went through his chest as he glanced down and saw it. The monster was swimming almost leisurely below him, heading down into the depths in the direction of his pod. 

In a desperate bid to distract the monster enough to give his pod time to escape, Keith trilled loudly. The monster didn’t budge, it only kept swimming down, down, deeper, deeper…

Keith went silent as the monster disappeared into the depths. Try as he might, he could no longer see it. He wanted to think it had just gone away, that it wasn’t interested in his pod. But he knew enough about the monsters that they wouldn’t just come here for no reason. The monster was biding its time, trying to lull them into a false sense of security. He couldn’t allow that to happen. 

Keith knew what he needed to do. He raised his head and locked eyes with Lance. By now, Lance was struggling against his birthmate’s grip, desperately trying to get to his mate. When Lance saw Keith’s resigned, but determined look, his struggling increased tenfold. He began sending out urgent clicks and chirps, begging his mate not to go through with what he was about to do. 

_Please, Keith. Please don’t leave me. There has to be another way, there has to be…_

Then, gifted by a sudden burst of grief-fueled adrenaline, Lance ripped his arm free from Rachel’s grip and started swimming furiously towards Keith, towards his mate…

But just as quickly as he had gotten free, Lance was caught again, this time by a burly male affectionately nicknamed Hunk. Despite him not having been an adult for very long, Hunk was already stronger than most of the pod. He caught Lance around the middle and wouldn’t let go, even as Lance writhed and spit at him. All of Keith’s instincts told him to rip Hunk off of Lance and then soothe his mate, assuring him that he wasn’t going anywhere and that he would be alright. But Keith knew that even if he tried to lead his pod to safety, it would be pointless. The monster would catch up with them and even if they fled, it would pursue them. They could fight, but they couldn’t risk it right after the birthing season, with so many of their young still relying on their mother’s milk for nourishment. Keith had no choice. 

Hunk cast a sad look at Keith as he held Lance fast, an unspoken agreement going between the two of them. 

_Go do what you need to do_ , Hunk seemed to say. 

_Take care of him for me_ , Keith seemed to say back. 

Hunk nodded and cooed something in Lance’s ear, obviously trying to comfort his podmate. It only made Lance more feral, now trying to use his claws to pry Hunk’s hands off of him. Large sobs shook his body as he made eye contact with Keith once again, his large blue eyes wide with desperation and pain. 

Keith slowly raised a webbed hand and placed it on his heart, his and Lance’s symbol of love. He then raised his hand in a fist, the symbol of loyalty to his pod. 

The pod’s faces were all grim as they raised their fists back at him before swimming away. Hunk began dragging Lance away with the pod, having to employ the help of Shiro’s mate, Adam, and another female called Romelle just to keep up. As Lance was forced away, his cries became higher and more shrill. He was full on fighting now, swinging his fists into Adam’s face and beating Romelle with his tail. Keith had to force himself to look away as his mate’s cries started to fade. He had a new mission to complete. 

Slowly, he pressed his spear to his chest and dragged it across, hissing lowly as the blood spilled out and dispersed into the water, creating haunting tendrils of red. 

Biting his lip, Keith forced himself to turn away, away from Lance, away from his pod, away from his life. As fast as he could, he started swimming away in the opposite direction. It shattered his heart to do so, but at least he wouldn’t have to live with it for long. 

When he had gotten far enough away so his blood trail could be followed, Keith stopped. Hardening his resolve, he swallowed the lump in his throat and turned his face towards the sun filtering through the waves, wanting to feel it on his skin one last time. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel scared at the thought of what he was about to do. He certainly didn’t feel happy or content, but he knew he had had a good life, short as it was. Lance, Shiro, all of his podmates; they had all made it worthwhile. While he loathed the fact that he would have to leave his mate behind, he knew that Lance would be in good hands. 

And as the black maw of death consumed him, Keith closed his eyes and let his spear drift off into the blue water; water the color of Lance’s eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm SORRY!! 
> 
> please comment if you liked it though! seriously please please please comment and kudos i need validation
> 
> btw y'all should go and watch the original documentary that this was based off of, it's super cool even if its not real! it's called "mermaids: the body found"


End file.
